Cat 215: He’s Not Old At All!

Chapter 215: He’s Not Old at All!

[Have You Seen My Cat] Live Stream:

“Damn! Brother Feng, how can you just let a newbie hug you like that?!”

“Brother Feng is so gentle! He was never like this before. Now he’s even comforting newbies. Your CP is still injured and waiting for you outside!”

“CP? Brother Feng hasn’t had a CP for ages. That person betrayed him back then—how can he shamelessly ask Feng to come save him now? Unbelievable!”

“Brother Feng himself hasn’t said anything, why are all of you getting so carried away?”

“I have no strong feelings about Brother Feng’s old drama, but I remember a year ago I watched other top players try this dungeon. It seemed impossible—no one thought a player could actually make it out. No matter how many people you brought in, the number of clones kept multiplying and in the end, only the players died. The NPCs always won.” [gift basket]

“You mean no one has cleared this dungeon yet?”

“That’s not quite it—‘Sweet Christmas’ isn’t the hardest top-tier dungeon; it’s only a level above the hardest advanced dungeon. But it’s very hard to clear, and even if you do, it’s just about finding the exit to the snow globe. Not many top players, not many clears—almost no one makes it to the last stage. In all the streams I’ve watched, I’ve only seen players clear it once: only two players, and they spent ten hours preparing the gift.”

“So if that’s the case, making the Christmas gift is the right approach—as long as you find the right recipient, you can leave the game. But Brother Feng’s team is going deeper, discovering the printer and the truth about the clones… Does that mean there’s a totally different ending possible?”

“Wait—so in previous clears, people just completed the main quest? Just coming out of the snow globe was counted as mission complete?”

“That snow globe segment is brutal—waves of relentless monsters, then the appearance of clones, none of your survival left. Most players probably never thought they could exit that scenario, and ended up trapped and killed there.”

“So, just by finishing the Christmas gift, you can basically leave. But going deeper, as Brother Feng’s team is, means upping the difficulty for themselves?” [best arcade machine]

“Isn’t that classic Brother Feng though? None of the dungeons he takes on are ever easy. Only by digging up all the dungeon’s secrets can you get high scores.”

“Aaaaaaah! Brother Feng, let go of the newbie! I won’t allow you to date a newbie!”

“Ugh, this is a horror game. Can you romance fanatics go somewhere else? It’s so annoying.”

While Qi Feng’s stream was getting noisy again, Yan Jiyun was still being comforted by Qi Feng, deeply grateful that his physical condition was good—together, they were safe for now.

The store manager glanced around the room, but clearly wasn’t in a rush to search for the three little people he’d just seen. With the door closed, did they really think they could escape?

Shutting the door turned this room into a sealed chamber—nobody in, nobody out. But Yan Jiyun and Qi Feng were, in truth, no longer in the room at all. They were hitching a ride out and would need to figure a way back in later.

There was a water dispenser and a microwave in the break room, and down the hall, a restroom. They didn’t believe the manager could go without using any of them.

Three steps later, the store manager left the room, closing the door tight behind him with a smirk. “Fine, I’ll deal with you all later when I have the time.”

Yan Jiyun edged close to Qi Feng and whispered, “Let’s look for a chance to get down later.”

Qi Feng, still reeling from the hug, felt that Yan Jiyun was really quite clingy… Maybe he’d hint at it later.

A few seconds passed, and he changed his mind.

Forget it, after what just happened, it was just normal worry. No need to ruin their teamwork over small things. In fact, their cooperation just now was smoother than with any previous teammate. Were it not for the need to focus on how to get out of the manager’s pocket, he might have started wondering about inviting Yan Jiyun into his team permanently.

“Yeah. Watch which shelf he goes near—we’ll get off at the nearest opportunity.”

They followed the store manager out of the break room, not daring to let down their guard. The last thing they needed was for him to suddenly sit at the register.

Luckily, the manager, for all his oddities, was seriously devoted to keeping the store tidy. He likely relied on the appearance of his shop to lure in customers, turn them small, and stuff them into snow globes to let them fend for themselves.

The manager resumed straightening the shelves one by one.

Jumping down from his back pocket was a lot easier—and less dangerous—than getting in had been.

When the manager stopped at a shelf displaying Christmas lanyards, the two of them cooperated wordlessly, leaping out and grabbing onto a dangling lanyard.

They slid down to the floor smoothly and hurried to the temporary rest area where Chu Mo, Qi Yunchu, and Su Qiuming were.

Qi Feng recounted their findings concisely—the process was clear, but Yan Jiyun felt he was way too flat about it. It had been so thrilling!

Qi Yunchu said, “So you mean, now we need to find something made of silicone, open the printer’s screen, and perhaps we can return to normal size?”

Qi Feng replied, “That’s right. But we can’t delay making the Christmas gift either. We’ll have to split up. You three keep working on the gift. Yan Jiyun, Wen Ye, and I will handle the printer.”

Yan Jiyun liked that arrangement. [gift basket]

Su Qiuming wasn’t up for anything strenuous in his injured state and could only rest. Qi Yunchu, never robust, was of limited use, but he and Chu Mo were good with crafts—the Christmas gift already had form, so no point in switching hands now.

Qi Yunchu suggested, “Making the Christmas gift is easy, and we still have time. For now, we can all help search for silicone items. The printer is obviously more important.”

Chu Mo agreed, “I’m in.”

Su Qiuming said, “I shouldn’t move much. I’ll handle the crafts.”

Qi Feng and Yan Jiyun had just come to exchange updates, so everyone grouped up and began searching the shelves for silicone goods.

The store was laid out in an L-shape. Excluding the wall-mounted shelves, there were ten movable ones. Dividing the search, the four hunted systematically—there was no other way.

If Qi Feng and Wen Ye hadn’t seen with their own eyes how the manager shrank the two robbers, they probably wouldn’t be this desperate.

Finding one item in such a big shop was no small task.

They agreed: whenever someone found a potential silicone item, they’d note it down and later compare to select the best.

Roaming his assigned shelves, Yan Jiyun found a pair of Christmas gloves with silicone finger pads, a Santa-themed silicone phone case, a silicone wristband, and several other things—more than he’d imagined.

After half an hour, the four assembled to tally their finds: silicone rubber bands, wristbands, buttons, cup mats, phone cases, cup lids, cup sleeves. Now they had to choose the one with the broadest surface and the least weight.

These items couldn’t be made into the Christmas gift, and if shrunk, they’d be unusable.

Everyone except Su Qiuming voiced their points.

Yan Jiyun said, “Let’s choose one that’s easy to carry and not too exhausting.”

Qi Yunchu replied, “But even the smallest, we might not be able to move at all.”

Chu Mo suggested, “I like the computer button.”

Qi Feng issued a conclusion: “The wristband.”

Wristbands weren’t perfect, but were the best mix of size and portability. The group quickly understood his reasoning and voted to support the decision.

Their task now was to take it down.

Yan Jiyun led them to the area where he’d found the wristband.

Relieved, everyone noted the wristbands hung from a hook, easy to remove and drop to the floor.

No time to waste.

Yan Jiyun, the best climber, was about to go up himself, but someone moved even faster—Chu Mo.

“I rested enough just now—save your strength,” Chu Mo called as he climbed.

Yan Jiyun looked up happily. “Good man.”

He did need a break after all the climbing in the staff room, so he swung his arms to loosen up.

Qi Feng: “……” And that makes you brothers now?

Chu Mo was prompt and nimble; he soon reached the iron hook and perched atop it.

Even though a silicone wristband might be light for a regular person, to someone their size, it weighed eighty or ninety pounds, with a diameter about two meters. One person could drag it, but it would be slow.

Perched on the hook, Chu Mo called, “I’m kicking it down—the rest of you move clear.”

Qi Feng dragged Yan Jiyun aside—a falling silicone wristband could bounce, and getting hit would be fatal at their size.

The three retreated; Chu Mo knocked the wristband down.

It landed with barely a sound, not enough to attract the manager’s attention.

At this scale, one person could drag it, but it was wide. Qi Feng and Yan Jiyun each lifted an end and weighed it.

Yan Jiyun realized, “Wait, the break room door is locked. We’ll never push it open at our size.”

They really couldn’t; even five of them together wouldn’t make a dent.

Qi Feng signaled to put the wristband down. “There’s one chance. Maybe it’ll work.”

Qi Yunchu asked, “What?”

Qi Feng pointed to the front desk. “That child—the manager never threw him out, just held him down at the register. Doesn’t it seem odd how obedient he is, not putting up a fuss at all?”

Yan Jiyun nodded. “Yes, even after breaking the plane and cars, he’s acting tame—not a bit naughty, not even trying to escape.”

Arriving late, Qi Yunchu didn’t know what the kid had done before. “So what do we do?”

Qi Feng said, “Get his attention. Let him open the door for us.”

Chu Mo, from his perch, agreed, “Good plan. But how do we make him believe us?”

Yan Jiyun snapped his fingers. “Easy! We can dress up as Christmas elves!”

Five minutes later, the three had collected a few toy dolls that could be used for the gift. Their clothes were just the right size. The four stripped the toys and put the costumes on.

Yan Jiyun shoved the hat onto his head, then, approaching Qi Feng, hooked on a fake beard and asked, “How about now—do I look like Santa?”

Qi Feng’s hand went straight for Yan Jiyun’s hat. “Christmas elves don’t wear beards.”

Yan Jiyun removed the beard—Qi Feng was so serious. He’d only meant to joke, but got shut down.

The four of them headed for the front desk, hiding themselves under the nearest shelf.

The manager was sitting at the register, sorting the coins the robbers had spilled, stacking them by denomination, and not moving from his seat.

Qi Yunchu said, “We’ll have to distract him.”

Chu Mo said, “Let’s make some noise.”

Yan Jiyun volunteered, “I’ll go. I’m not good at entertaining children.”

Qi Feng pressed a hand to his shoulder, “Don’t be so modest. You’re certainly good at entertaining me—you stay.”

Yan Jiyun: “…… Well, you don’t have to say it aloud!”

Qi Yunchu, grinning at the pair, said, “I’ll go with Qi Feng then. I’m not much good with kids either.”

After the other two set off, Yan Jiyun and Chu Mo exchanged glances. “Do we look like good child-entertainers?”

Chu Mo replied, “Maybe because we’re younger and livelier?”

Yan Jiyun nodded in fervent agreement. “Exactly. They’re just old—old at heart.”

Qi Feng and Qi Yunchu, not far off, heard them and nearly turned back to tousle Yan Jiyun’s head. Ridiculous—he wasn’t old at all!

As for making noise, Qi Feng and Qi Yunchu were seasoned experts. They found a stick and banged wildly on a metal tray, drawing the manager’s attention—and nearly deafening themselves in the process.

Seeing the manager leave his seat, Yan Jiyun and Chu Mo prepared to put their plan into action.